Sealing means



S. M. MOBERG SEALING MEANS Mw El, w55

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April '7, 1953 JNVENTOR.

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SEALINGMEANS Filed April '7, 195s 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ll Il l Il V12/MWASEALING MEANS Sigurd Manfred Moberg, Pompton Plains, N. J., assignor toE. l. Brooks Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication April 7, 1953, Serial No. 347,199

6 Claims. (Cl. 292-325) rlhis invention relates to sealing means adaptedto disclose tampering, especially such sealing means used in connectionwith coin bags.

The present application is a continuation in part of my applicationSerial No. 269,175, filed January 3l, 1952 (now abandoned).

The sealing means used in connection with bags, such as are used by theGovernment and banks in shipping coin, consist usually of a deformablesealing element and a shackle, generally of fibrous material. Thisshackle is threaded and rethreaded through openings in the sealingelement to thereby provide bag-encircling loops at one end of saidsealing element and a shackle-anchoring loop at the other end of saidsealing element. Tamper ing with the sealing means most always takes theform of an attempt to loosen the bag-encircling loops to thereby slipthe shackle in the sealing element. If the attempt is successful, it mayenable the tamperer to gain access to the bag and, after so doing,retighten the bagencircling loops and recompress the sealing element sothat, to outward appearance, the bag, on casual inspec tion, seems to beproperly sealed. Frequently, in attempting to loosen the bag-encirclingloops, such loops will snap or break which makes it self-evident thatthe sealing means have been tampered wth. However, in some instances theattempt at tampering is not successful in that the bag-encircling loopsare not broken, nor is the shackle slipped sufficiently in the sealingelement to gain access to the contents of the bag. In such cases, noevidence is observable that an attempt to tamper with the sealing meanshas been made.

it is the main object of this invention to provide sealing means adaptedto leave evidence of an unsuccessful attempt to tamper with the sealingmeans. Such evidence is important because it may lead to detection ofthe person who has attempted the tampering and thereby prevent future,and possibly successful, attempts by such a person or by a group ofpersons acting in concert.

The invention consists in providing the deformable sealing element witha weakened intermediate transverse Zone which is nonetheless capable ofpreventing crumpling of the sealing element in response to a pullexerted by the bag-encircling loops when tightening said loops beforesealing, and compressing said sealing element, and bending it in saidweakened zone to further weaken said .zone to an extent to cause saidsealing element to crumple when the bag-encircling loops are subject totension after the shackle has been sealed. The invention furtherconsists in a deformable sealing element having three transverse Zones,the intermediate one of which is weaker transversely than the others butnonetheless capable of preventing crumpling of the sealing element inresponse to a pull exerted by the bag-encircling loops when tighteningsaid loops before sealing, and said zone being bendable transversely inthe act of sealing to still further weaken it, Other features of theinvention will appear as the specification proceeds.

.ln the accompanying drawings:

States Patent O ICC Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a bagwith one form of sealing element and shackle in position thereon, thebag-encircling loops being shown tightened but before the sealingelement has been deformed;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig, 1 showing the shackle sealed and thesealing element deformed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing the effect ofplacing the bag-encircling loops under tension by means of the insertionof an implement between the bag and the loops;

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of modified forms of sealingelements;

Fig. 6 is a face view of a sealing means showing a different mode ofthreading the shackle through the sealing element; and

Fig. 7 is a face view of a sealing means embodying the invention butshowing in addition thereto the use of an intermediate member that maybe interposed between the bag and the sealing element.

Referring first to Figs. l to 3 inclusive, 10 indicates the neck portionof a coin bag. The sealing means are composed of a sealing element ofdeformable material 11 and a shackle 12. Said shackle is threadedandrethreaded through longitudinal openings in the sealing element tothereby provide bagencircling loops 13 at one end of said sealingelement and a shackle-anchoring loop 14 at the other end of said sealingelement. Sealing element 11 consists of three Zones 15, 16 and 17, theintermediate Zone 16 being weakened transversely as by means of cut-outportions 1S. The sealing means are generally shipped to users thereofwith the shackle threaded and rethreaded through the sealing element.When a bag is to be sealed, bag-encircling loops 13 are placed aroundthe neck of the bag and are rmly tightened by pulling on shackle ends19. Sealing element 11 is then deformed by a suitable tool whereby thematerial ot' zones 15 and 17 is compressed about the shackle and, at thesame time, said sealing element is bent transversely in weakened zone 16into the step formation indicated in Fig. 2 to still further weaken saidzone. If it thereafter be attempted to loosen the bag-encircling loopsby means of an implement such as 20 indicated in Fig. 3, the pull onsaid bag-encircling loops will be transmitted to shackle-anchoring loop14 and will cause the seal to be bent still further and to crumple, asindicated in said Fig. 3, thereby giving clear visual evidence of thefact that tampering has been attempted but foiled. Again, if thetamperer attempts first to loosen one of the bagencircling loops, oneside of the sealing element will slump and, if he then attempts toloosen the other of the two bag-encircling loops, the other side of thesealing element will slump. In any event, there has not been suicientloosening of the bag-encircling loops to slip the shackle suicientlywithin the sealing element to gain access to the bag because, when thesealing element slumps or crumples, the shackle will be gripped evenmore firmly by the sealing element than it was before tampering wasattempted.

Zone 16 has been referred to as being weakened but, when tightening thebag-encircling loops before sealing, it is import ant that said weakenedzone shall nonetheless be capable of preventing crumpling of the sealingelement in response to a pull exerted by the bag-encircling loops whentightening said loops before sealing. llf such crumpling should takeplace before sealing, the distortion of the parts of the sealing elementcould give, after sealing has been accomplished, an indication of anattempt to tamper with the seal. Such indication would be false and mustbe avoided. For this reason, weakened zone 16 must be, as noted above,strong enough to resist the pull exerted by the bag-encircling loops intightening them around the mouth of the bag before sealing. Manydifierentmeans may be used to accomplish this. In the construction shownin Figs. 1 to 3, there is a thin webbing 21 connecting zones 15 and 17,which webbing constitutes a reinforcing means but which, as will be seenvfrom vFig. 2, `is weakened in-the act of sealing. A furtherdisadvantage of premature crumpling or slumping of the sealing elementis that said element will not `iit, or will fit imperfectly, the jaws ofthe sealing tool. In such case, the seal .may not be .properly closed.Also any design or name to be applied by the sealing tool to the sealingelement will be distorted.

In Fig. 4, slot 18h. extends clear across the sealing element but a thinwebbing 2lb connects the ymaterial of zones 15 and 17 of the sealingelement. in Fig. 5, a construction very similar to that shown in Fig. 4is illustrated, but here the cut-out portions 18C are separated by abridge portion 22 to render the sealing element more stable duringshipment before it is used.

In the foregoing gures, the threading and rethreading of the shacklethrough the sealing element 'have been the same, that is to say, theshackle has been so arranged that shackle-anchoring loop 14 extendsbetween the two outermost longitudinal openings 23 of the sealingelement. InFig. 6, the same construction of sealing element as that of`Fig, 1 is shown, but here the shackle is so threaded thatshackle-anchoring loop 14 extends between the two innermost longitudinalopenings 24 of the sealing element.

If desired, there may be, in addition to the sealing element, anindependent member 25 (Fig. 7) interposed between the bag and thesealing element. Such independent member may take many forms but can beof the construction shown and described in Patent No. 2,163,660.

I claim:

l. Sealing means comprising a deformable sealing element having alongitudinal opening, and a shackle threaded through said opening andproviding a bagencircling loop at one end of said element; said sealingelement having a cut-out portion, in one side face thereof, constitutingan intermediate interruption of said opening, the opposite side face ofsaid element having an integral web partially defining said cut-outportion, said web constituting a reinforcement opposing crumpling ofsaid element from force applied longitudinally thereto; and said web,further, being bendable upon seal-pressing of said .element and beingfurther Vbendable, upon the subsequent application of substantialtension to said shackle.

2. Sealing means according to claim l, wherein said sealing element hasa plurality of such longitudinal openings, and has a plurality of suchcut-out portions intermediately interrupting said openings, and such aweb partially defining said cut-out portions.

3. Sealing means according to claim l, said cut-out portion and webbeing approximately midway of the ends of the sealing element.

4. Sealing means according to claim l, said cutout portion and webextending substantially across the full width of the sealing element.

5. Sealing means according to claim 4, having a plurality of suchlongitudinal openings and having a longitudinally extending, reinforcingbridge within said cutout portion and between two of said openings.

6. Sealing ymeans according to claim 2, said cut-out portions and saidwebs being at opposite sides of the sealing element.

,References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSr1,469,703 Stanseld Oct. 2, 1923 r2,163,660 Brooks June 27, 19392,170,089 Nelson Aug. 22, 1939

